Meet wonder cob Jimmy, who events, hunts and shows, and who lives with a rhea called Neenee.
Debbie Attrill was given Jimmy as a colt, whom his owner had bought for £100; Debbie told H&H she was a fan of thoroughbreds rather than “ploddy cobs”, but took him as a companion for her “horse of a lifetime” Dandy.
But when she lost Dandy, two years ago after 25 years together, there was Jimmy, aged 10 and unbacked.
“We were both left on our own, and both a bit lost, and I think we found each other,” she said.
The pair have competed in all disciplines together; Jimmy will “jump everything you put in front of him”, and also struts his stuff in the show ring and between the white boards.
“He’s completely changed my perspective of cobs and brought me back to life again,” Debbie said “The turbo button gets stuck on but I wouldn’t change him for the world.
“He hasn’t got a nasty bone in his body. He lives with a rhea, who was born in the stable opposite him; I reared them from chicks and two died so Neenee was on her own, and so was Jimmy. I thought ‘I wonder if this will work’.”
A first meeting in the yard did not initially look promising for the future of the relationship.
“They went round the yard and she kept pecking him!” Debbie said. “Then I realised she was pecking the flies off, so he had a perfect fly-catcher.
“He got a bit bullied by her at first, then one afternoon there were feathers in the yard so he must have retaliated – and now they have an understanding.
“He neighs to her, and she spends the night in his stable and they just wander round together. When I ride him back up the lane, she walks up the other side of the hedge. It’s a strange partnership but it works; some people have a goat or a sheep for company for their horses – I’ve got a mini ostrich!”
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